Slice of Life
by IronicSnap
Summary: Greg drops by the barn to reward Steven's hard work on the drill. Peridot, as ever, is lost.
It was dusk. The sun had almost disappeared completely, leaving the sky a placid mauve. Insects chirped, grass blew gently in the breeze, and at the barn, the Crystal Gems worked.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were all working on the main body of the drill, having established a quiet and efficient rhythm. Peridot was inside the barn, puzzling out some great and terrible problem that she had noticed that morning and insisted was of vital importance, given that a miscalculation could potentially comprise the integrity of the drill's hull and doom the mission, and with it, the Earth. Steven was nailing a piece of wood to another piece of wood.

He wiped his forehead with his arm. "Man, what time is it?" he wondered aloud. "Feels like we've been doing this for hours."

"That's because we have, Steven," Pearl replied, not looking up from the panel she was screwing shut. She smiled to herself. "I have to say, our progress today has been better than usual."

Garnet cast a look over to Steven, unconcerned by the weight of the machinery she was holding up with one hand. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Steven. He carefully laid the two pieces of wood next to a large pile of similar creations. "Just hungry, is all. What are we going to do for dinner?"

"Uh, I dunno, buddy," said Amethyst from the top of the drill. Her fingers drummed against the handle of the hammer she was holding. "I'm not sure we have any food left up here. I think somebody might've eaten the last of it today."

There was a pause.

"It was probably Peridot!" Amethyst added. "You know Peridot. Always doing... weird stuff... 'cause she doesn't know about Earth and junk..."

There was another pause.

"Okay, that's fair," said Amethyst. "It was me. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Steven good-naturedly. "I'll just get something in town!"

"Town?" asked Pearl dubiously. "That's a little far to walk by yourself."

"He doesn't have to walk," Amethyst said. She pointed at something in the distance. "Greg can drive him!"

She had seen him before anyone else could, due to being on top of the drill. Soon, though, Steven could see his father's van trundling up the dirt road to the barn.

As soon Greg parked near the barn and stepped out, he was greeted by Steven running up to him and giving him a hug. "Hey, dad!"

"Hey, Stew-ball," said Greg. "How's your, um... project coming along?"

"Pretty good! There's not a whole lot left for us to do." Steven cleared his throat and put on a tone of mock formality. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visitance, Your Dadliness?"

Greg moved around to the passenger seat of the van. "Well,it's Friday night, and you've been working really hard on this drill thing, so I figured I'd be... well, dadly."

He opened the door and revealed the van's precious cargo – four large pizza boxes and a bag from the Big Donut. The warm smell of the food immediately hit Steven.

"Wow! You're the best, dad!"

Greg made a bashful noise somewhere in the region of "d'aww".

Steven turned around and called out "Is it okay if I have dinner now?"

Garnet stood up from under the drill and gave Steven a thumbs up. "Go for it," she replied. "It is Friday, after all."

"Aww _**yeah!**_ " yelled Amethyst, jumping off the drill and running toward the van. "Pizza ti- _iiiiiiiime!_ "

"Amethyst!" called Pearl. "You can't just -!"

Garnet laid a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "She's earned a break too."

Pearl sighed. "That's fair, I suppose." A thought crossed her mind. "What about Peridot?"

"What _about_ Peridot?" Garnet replied flatly.

Greg opened the back of the van and he and Steven sat in the doorway. Amethyst sat on the grass next to them, cross-legged and grinning.

Greg gave one pizza to Steven, then to Amethyst, and finally himself, leaving the fourth box behind him. "Kiki and Jenny both say hi, by the way," he said to Steven.

Steven chewed thoughtfully on a slice. "I guess it has been a while since I've been in town. How's everybody doing?"

Greg laughed. "Just fine. Just yesterday I found that Ronaldo kid digging in the dirt behind the car wash. Said he was looking for moon rocks, or something..."

Greg continued to catch Steven up on what was happening down in Beach City. Amethyst ate with both hands, her mouth too full to speak, but she listened attentively along with Steven.

The barn door creaked open and Peridot leaned out. She squinted crabbily into the evening.

"Pearl? I've finished the recalibrations."

"That's good to hear, Peridot," said Pearl absently.

Peridot shuffled up to where Pearl was working. "So when the drill _doesn't_ explode and kill us all, you'll have me to thank," she added proudly.

"Good job."

Peridot stood for a moment behind Pearl, waiting for her to say something else. After a while she rolled her eyes and turned to leave. Before she did, she noticed Steven, Greg and Amethyst at the van.

"I'm... going to inform Amethyst on my progress."

"Mmm-hmm."

Greg and Steven were laughing over Mayor Dewey's latest public speaking flub when Peridot approached. Greg's laughter trailed off awkwardly into a cough. "Oh... hello, Peridot," he said, with the wariness of a man who had been pushed off of a roof one too many times.

"Greetings," said Peridot flatly. "I'm... just here to inform Amethyst that I've succeeded in recalculating the drill's design in order to prevent a potential hull breach."

Amethyst swallowed her last slice of pizza to free up her mouth to talk. "Uh, cool! Good job, Peri."

" _Thank_ you!" said Peridot. "It's good to finally get some recognition..." She eyed the pizza suspiciously. "I see you are presently... dinner. I won't take up any more of your time."

"You could join us!" said Amethyst.

Peridot faltered. "I could?"

Greg blinked. "She could?"

Steven smiled. "Sure you could!" He turned to Greg. "Peridot hasn't tried eating anything yet. As far as Earth food goes, pizza is a great place to start!"

Peridot hesitated for a few seconds. Amethyst patted the ground next to her and Peridot relented, imitating Amethyst's cross-legged posture. Greg offered Peridot the unopened pizza box.

"I brought four, just to be safe," said Greg. "Sometimes Garnet feels like eating, sometimes she doesn't. Plus, it pays to be careful when it comes to Amethyst and food."

"You know it!" said Amethyst, who had started to chew on the cardboard box her pizza had come in.

Peridot took the cuboid containment unit – the flimsy wood extract seemed to her to be a poor construction material, but it was serving its purpose – and set it delicately on her lap. She opened it and peered inside cautiously.

The contents stared back at her. It was an uneven disc divided imperfectly into eight chevrons. On the upper layer, it was covered with coagulated animal protein which had been heated to the point of viscosity; except for its circumference, which consisted of the same hardened wheat extract as the disc's base. In places it was possible to see the paste of liquefied fruit which served as the object's second layer. This specimen was adorned with scraps of the charred flesh of aquatic creatures. The whole thing was at a high temperature and was gradually exuding heat energy.

"I understand," lied Peridot.

"Just take a slice and eat it!" said Steven. "Sometimes I like to take two and stack them together to make a sandwich thing, but that's an advanced technique. Start slow."

Peridot took hold of a slice at the crust by her forefingers, frowning at it. She pulled it slowly upwards. Strings of cheese tethered it feebly to its brethren before they grew too taut to survive and snapped helplessly, unable to prevent the inevitable.

She turned it over, examining the slice with a critical and disdainful eye. "And this is _really_ your sole method of energy intake?" **  
**  
"Well, not _just_ pizza," said Greg. "That... wouldn't work out so great. But broadly speaking, yeah."

Peridot's frown deepened. "Humans are so weird."

"Yep," said Greg.

Amethyst punched Peridot playfully in the arm, startling her. "Quit stalling already! See if you like it!"

The slice made slow, ominous progress towards Peridot's mouth. The tip sagged unexpectedly, necessitating an abrupt course correction. Finally it arrived. Peridot closed her teeth around the edge and pulled it away from her. A string of cheese stubbornly persisted between her mouth and the slice.

The sensation was odd. The base remained solid, but the cheese and sauce quickly began to lose their shape and ooze in all directions. Panicking, Peridot aborted the mission. The mouthful slid gracelessly out of her mouth and landed wetly on the box.

"I... do not actually understand," admitted Peridot.

Steven laughed. "That's okay. Maybe you'll like the next thing!"

"Yeah," said Peridot dubiously. "Maybe."

Amethyst coughed pointedly. "So, are you gonna..." Peridot wordlessly handed her the pizza. "Thanks!" said Amethyst.

Garnet and Pearl joined them around the time Steven got into the doughnuts. They easily fell into the conversation and stream of jokes. Peridot quietly sat next to Amethyst and tried occasionally to hide her smile.

The sky eventually lost its colour and settled on a uniform black. Insects grew quiet, the grass became still, and at the barn, the Crystal Gems relaxed.


End file.
